The Kamikaze mission

Is the "Stop Gordon" mission by the Blairite ultras doomed to destruction, or will it explode Gordon Brown's hopes of the premiership? My full take on Alan Milburn's 2020 vision initiative can be found in my Newcastle Journal column, HERE and as a Podcast HERE.

Interestingly, Recess Monkey reports that Gerald Kaufman has been overheard telling colleagues that the "ultras" have already found their candidate, and that s/he has agreed to stand. Let's hope he has better luck with this prediction than his overnight announcement of the death of Margaret Thatcher.

More analysis, gossip, leftism, Anglocentricity and humour

That's what you've told me you want to see on this blog, according to my Blog Questionnaire which has now closed. However all the categories I listed got a smattering of votes, suggesting to me that readers appreciate the current range of subject matter covered here.

The full wish-list in order of popularity was:

More in depth political or policy analysis - 48 votes
More gossip or humour - 32 votes
More stuff about journalism and blogging - 30 votes
More coverage of Labour politics - 30 votes
More coverage of the English Question - 28 votes
More coverage of Tory politics - 20 votes
More coverage of Lib Dem politics - 17 votes
More interactive stuff eg polls - 15 votes
It's fine just the way it is! - 15 votes
More stuff about Christian issues - 14 votes
More non-political stufff eg sport, telly - 11 votes
More personal stuff about yours truly - 9 votes

So all in all, it suggests that I've got things about right in trying to make this a blog that majors in left-of-centre political analysis coupled with a fair amount of coverage of the "English Question" and the media world.

I'm not going to give up the occasional forays into more personal stuff though. This is my online diary as well as a platform for serious political commentary, and that's the way it will stay.

Kilfoyle backs Denham

Peter Kilfoyle has become the first MP to publicly back a John Denham leadership bid following my post on the matter last week, correctly identifying the point that any serious challenge to Gordon Brown needs to come from the "sensible left" of the party and not the uber Blairite right as Milburn, Clarke, Field and Co are clearly advocating.

Unfortunately, according to blogging MP Tom Watson, he won't be standing, and neither will David Miliband. At this stage, it's looking like Milburn might be forced into that kamikaze challenge after all.

Milburn? Bring it on

So Alan Milburn and Charlie No Trousers Clarke managed to persuade just 13 Labour MPs - one of whom was fervent Brownite Nick "Newcastle" Brown - to attend the launch of their new website designed to fuck-up Gordon's chances of becoming Prime Minister stimulate a lively policy debate about the party's future direction.

It's not looking good for those 44 MPs' signatures, is it, Alan?

All the speculation of course is that this is just an attempt to flush out a Cabinet-level challenger, although the Guardian's talk this morning of "10 Cabinet ministers" being prepared to back David Miliband is surely just wishful thinking on their part.

Personally, I think it would be much more entertaining, as well as more honest, if Milburn just came clean and admitted he wants to stand himself. What tales might emerge.